A blog that focuses on our unique program to teach children to gentle wild horses and start colts using natural horsemanship. This blog discusses our efforts to prevent the extinction of the Corolla Spanish Mustang. We are the home of Tradewind, a formerly wild Corolla Spanish mustang stallion who was named the 2011 National Pleasure Trail Horse of the Year by the Horse of the Americas Registry. We are an American Indian Horse Registry Hall of Fame Farm.

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Wednesday, October 8, 2014

The Wild Horse Dilemma--Bonnie Gruenberg's Great New Book

The best book that has yet been written about the wild horses of the east coast is Bonnie Gruenberg's work, "Hoof Prints In The Sand". Within the next few month's a better book will come out, and one that I do not ever expect to see bested, her encyclical "Wild Horse Dilemma: Conflicts and Controversies of The Atlantic Coast Herds". It is comprehensive, a stellar piece of research, and simply fascinating to read.

I got a chance to read the book before it went to final publishing. Everyone will find their own favorite parts by I am especially drawn to her research on the "two source" theory of the background of the wild horses of the Outer Banks. It may very sell be that there was a significant introduction of Colonial Spanish horse genetics through what were called Chickasaw horses (horses from the tribes of the southeast prior to their deportation to Oklahoma). I doubt that the other source , called Seminoles in the old writings actually came directly from those tribes. I suspect that they are remnants of the earliest horses to reach the Outer Banks.They are the smaller of the two possible root strains. Living and evolving on the harsh environment of the Outer Banks would case the horses to become smaller over time.

If you have a question about any of the island horses and if the answer is not in this book, the answer is not known.

(Here is a picture of the author a few years ago when she rode with us and gave my riders a special presentation on her research)

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About Me

In my coat and tie life I am a prosecutor in Smithfield, Virgina. In my boots and blue jeans life am Executive Director of the Gwaltney Frontier Farm, Inc, an non profit organizations which administers Mill Swamp Indian Horses. We raise mustangs, including the rare and endangered Corolla Spanish Mustangs. We teach natural horsemanship to students as young as five years old. I have written several articles on natural horsemanship and recently published my first book, "And a Little Child Shall Lead Them: Learning From Wild Horses and Small Children. I was a recipient of the Keeper of the Flame Award from the American Indian horse Association for our efforts to preserve the Corolla Spanish mustangs and in 2009 we were recognized by the Horse of the Americas Registry with the Carol Stone Ambassador Award. In 2011 we received the Currituck Star Award for our Corolla preservation efforts.
My wife, Beth Edwards and I have three daughters and five grandchildren. See our web site, www.msindianhorses.com

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